Obama provides landing for fly

A fly lands on Obama’s brow during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Reuters)

Washington, Jan. 25: Not even the Secret Service could keep the fly away from Barack Obama’s furrowed brow.

The buzzing insect stole the show as the President announced two new members of his second administration, cutting wild loops around the leader of the free world before landing squarely on his forehead.

The official White House transcript simply reads: “This guy is bothering me here — (swatting at a fly.)” Meanwhile, the pool report which describes the President’s movements throughout the day noted that “the President spoke for about five minutes while being menaced by a house fly.”

Perhaps he remembered the protests after swatting the fly in 2009, when the animal rights group Peta sent him a humane bugcatcher at the White House. Or maybe he wanted to keep the love flowing only four days after embracing a sweeping vision of liberalism at his second-term inauguration.

It was not the first time Obama has shared camera time with a fly. In June 2009, the newly-elected President dealt some tough justice to one which interrupted an interview. “Get out of here,” he said, before smacking and killing the fly. “I got the sucker,” he said at the time.

And during a 2010 announcement on healthcare reform, Obama cut off an emotional story about an American struggling without health insurance as a fly zipped around him.

In that instance, the fly did manage to land briefly on his face, providing an unsightly addition to the mole on the left side of his nose. His skill has improved dramatically since his time as a candidate, when he halted a local news interview because of a swarm gathering around him.